2009-04-25, 16:05 | Link #61 |
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Considering how they were all over the place chronologically in season one, I don't see that they would have any significant problems going back to pick up some of the important stuff they skipped in season four. And yeah, some of this stuff is moderately important if they want to go on to another season, either another 4-5 OVAs or another 13 eps.
It mostly depends on whether they want to completely fixate on the Yumi/Sachiko/Touko thing and just go forward to the end, or if they want to factor in some of the other major stuff that happens as well that isn't related to them. (And there is at least one bombshell remaining that isn't related to the red rose family.) It's really hard to say if they would have enough material without going back to make a 5th full season or a full OVA run of 5 eps. They would have to leave a lot more stuff in than they did in season 4 if they took that approach. (This is after thinking about how they approached season 4, which was to leave a LOT of stuff on the floor.) Or if they wanted to, they could just wind the clock back a bit and tackle the Yellow Rose problems. (That is, all of the Yoshino/Nana/Rei stuff that they skipped.) That would give them enough stuff for 2-3 episodes, easily. The Yellow Rose Sigh (Nana and Yoshino's first outing together), The Yellow Rose Date (Yoshino and Chisato, which was funny as hell), and the whole Nana vs. Rei in a Kendo match story. That would set up some important stuff for the last big push that could use a little extra set-up. (But it's not critical.) Also, they could devote one episode to the White Rose Sigh as well, which has some important backstory for Shimako. (And the first real meeting between Sei and Noriko.) It hints at Shimako's complicated family background. Remember, she's a devout Catholic daughter of a Buddhist temple, and when she was in 6th grade, she had already decided to enter a convent when she grew up, but someone has to inherit the temple... It leaves her very conflicted all the time. They briefly mentioned her brother in season 4, but this story gives you a lot more info about him and her relationship with him. The White Rose Date (from the scavenger hunt) was interesting, but could probably be skipped. It was a good story, but not great. Shimako always gets the weirdos, is all I'll say about that. There's a whole Tsutako/Shouko arc (Konno even devoted most of a book to them, IIRC), which they could either put in finally, or leave out. It's a nice story. Shouko is the girl who said she didn't care which bouton picked her in Soeur Audition. That could give you an ep or two. So that's looking over the stuff they skipped. The major stuff, anyway. There's about 6-8 eps worth of stuff in there, minimum. Looking ahead, well, I've already covered that in a previous post. Now, because I mentioned that there was a major bombshell ahead, I will put it in nested spoiler tags. It's somewhat big, but since everyone who reads the books in Japan has known it for 2 years already, I'm not going to play the "Oh, you shouldn't know!" game. Don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled of future events, or read it at your own peril. Spoiler for Major Spoiler about future events in the books:
That said, the Major Spoiler thing could also be fodder for a *really* good ep or two. Depends on how the producers wanted to handle it. So yeah, there's a lot of "stuff" out there to work with for a 5th season, but it's all going to depend on how they approach it. |
2009-04-25, 17:43 | Link #62 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Many thanks cynicalicious -- your extensive knowledge of the novels is always greatly appreciated!
If there is another season, I suppose the worst assumption one can make is that they'll only go back for the "dropped" parts of what happened in season 4 only as much as necessary to set up future events. But they should at the very least devote one episode each to the yellow and white rose families. I could see them doing a little conflating if necessary -- for example, somehow incorporating all the necessary Yoshino/Nana/Rei stuff into one episode (probably using the Kendo match as setting, with flashbacks when necessary). And anything that fleshes out Shimako (the most fascinating character to me, even if she can also be the most unreal) can only be a good thing! I'm soooo not clicking on that spoiler -- I can only assume it's the same *thing* (whatever it is) that okazu mentions (while discussing Twinkle, Twinkle Twirl) that "changes nothing" but is nevertheless a big *thing*. I too worry about them fixating on the red roses. The lovely thing about the first season and its corresponding novels (and, to a lesser extent, the second season and its corresponding novels) is that, even when they focussed on the other rose families, there was a brief scene or two on how the events of the other roses reflected on Yumi and Sachiko. It was a wonderful way of keeping a balanced ensemble while still keeping the red roses central. My guess is that such an approach would simply not work for the remaining novels, given how convoluted everything seems to have to become. Really, at this point I'm ready to throw up my arms and just stick to the novels, even if I have to wait years for them to be translated. P.S.: Are there any other sources for English translations of the novels besides okazu and Baka-Tsuki? If so, please share (or PM if necessary). Many thanks again. Last edited by mitsuganae; 2009-04-25 at 19:29. |
2009-04-25, 21:53 | Link #63 | |
I like pie.
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Quote:
As for my knowledge of the series, meh, it's not that great. (Compared to the average Japanese reader, anyway.) My Japanese is just good enough that I can read the books with some difficulty. A few years back, I was pretty much in the same boat you were in. (Except that I had 4-5 semesters of Japanese in my background.) I've been studying the language in my spare time, and I've got some ability with it, but it's still tricky to read the books and get it all right. I still make a lot of mistakes, but the stuff in the spoiler tags is for the most part accurate enough. I'm sure someone with better language chops could tear it all to shreds if they wanted to bother with it... but I find that most of those people don't want to bother with telling you this sort of stuff, so I'm doing it as a favor to folks who were always left kind of twisting in the wind, wondering all about this stuff, just kind of living off of crumbs. A lot of my motivation for learning Japanese was in wanting to master the language. A side benefit was not having to be at the mercy of other people to translate stuff I want to read/watch/listen to. I have to admit I got tired of waiting for other people to tell me stuff I could figure out if I just dropped the doughnut and studied some more. I have to say this, too. I'm not a big yuri fan. I'm not even a big fan of series like this. I just happen to really like this particular series, because I like the way Konno Oyuki writes, and I like the characters she creates. It's really not the sort of thing I'd usually read. It's actually very odd when I think about it, but there you go. As for other sources, no, not really. Ziggr did a really good translation of the first book, and that's about it. Google it. Otherwise, I recommend alljapaneseallthetime.com and just start from there. |
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2009-04-26, 01:27 | Link #64 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Konno Oyuki has written a wonderful series of character studies. The characters are all dear to me, even though I probably wouldn't get along with any of them if I met them in real life -- with the possible exceptions of Sachiko and Shimako (though I'm not Yumi or Noriko, so I wouldn't be able to unlock them, alas). Any of the Marimite novels on my bookshelf would look more out of place than, well, a shoujo novel on Yoshino's bookshelf! |
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2009-08-17, 05:36 | Link #68 | |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Canada
Age: 42
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Initially when I finished the series, I found my opinion mirrorring that of some other fans in their disappointment that Sachiko seemed to have been relegated to a secondary role in favour of Touko. But when I think about it in retrospect, it's clear that as the series progressed both Yumi and Sachiko have matured and become more confident in themselves and each other. I believe that they each know clearly what they mean to each other and are confident in knowing that as they form and develop new relationships, their fond regard for each other will NEVER DIMINISH. This is how I interpreted Sachiko's willingness to encourage Yumi with regards to Touko and also to remain in the background so to speak. It's funny how the various fanbases try to categorise their relationship into a "type" of love. On one hand you have those advocating a yuri relationship while others maintain it is exclusively platonic or sisterly. No offence intended to these various camps, but I think these views are too simplistic. My impression is that their affection for each other is so powerful that it transcends these labels. Kind of like a form of love that encompasses all of the above but also exceeds them at the same time, so to speak. So many of their interactions suggest rather blatantly that their feelings for each other exceed simple friendship. Man, I can't believe that I wrote this much about an anime before, much less a relationship featured in one. I got myself back into the hobby and I'm surprised and glad I found a show of which I have such a high regard for. If you agree/disagree with my opinion, please say so as I 'd like to hear your thoughts. |
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